alderwitch

"Mia is in a mood." Eden's voice carried through the house, half warning and half exasperated eldest sibling just before the front door was slammed shut by Mia, hot on her sister's heels. "I. Am. NOT." The response was belligerent on it's surface but bubbling below was the threat of angry tears. Fortunately, since Erik owned his own business; he could really set the hours of the classes as he needed to. It was much easier if all three parents were on deck when the elementary aged kids got home from school. Today, Min had been shooed off to take a nap while Erik puttered in the kitchen and Talya sat cross legged on the floor with the twins as they played. As Eden opened her mouth to point out that clearly Mia was NOT fine - and likely get the twins to start in on taking sides unintentionally - Talya rose to her feet to gently redirect Eden towards her father and the kitchen. She exchanged a quick look with Erik as she suggested gently, "Why don't you help your father finish making up snacks for everyone? Maybe Daddy can also put on some tea for us. It seems like we could all use a cup." Tea, after all, cured a great many ills. Once Erik had the other three children wrangled, Talya turned her attention to coaxing Mia, "Come on, sweetpea. I think you could use a bit of quiet time in the garden, hm?" Mia huffed another frustrated breath but her hand slid into her mother's trustingly. "M'not in a mood, Mum! I'm just- it just- Today just... SUCKED." Mia spat out the word, as children will often do, with all the invective she could muster. It was clearly the very worst word she could think of to use to describe just how awful a first grade day could be. Her little feet stomped along side Talya's, hitting each step like she was trying to punish the floor boards. "First, the stupid bus was late so I missed the morning circle. I love morning circle and it wasn't my fault. There was a de-tour and so we had to go all the way around and there should be something that tells the school to not have morning circle until EVERYONE gets there. It's not fair! Some people really like morning circle. I like morning circle and I missed the first half. And when I got there, Laura was showing off her new powers. She makes things sparkle and float. Ugh." Mia's nose scrunched up, the words just pouring out of her as they reached the garden, full of seven year old woe. "RAINBOW sparkles. It's not fair. She's mean and she got powers and they're pretty. We're not supposed to use powers and everyone knows that. Mr. Albright makes sure everyone knows that even when you're little kindergarten kids. Laura KNOWS BETTER. She kept giggling and saying 'sorry' but she wasn't sorry. She was showing off! She's a jerk." Talya settled on a bench, nodding gravely as Mia huffed and stomped and finally worked her way around to what was really nagging at her. "It's not fair. Why don't I have powers yet? What if I never get any powers?! Laura says that some people just never get powers and I shouldn't be sad about that." When Mia's lower lip trembled, Talya had to tamp down the urge to find this 'Laura' and see exactly why she was such a tiny jerk. Instead, she held out her arms for Mia to bury herself in a tight hug. "Sweetness," Talya said, resting her chin on top of Eden's head, her arms warm and comforting, "I don't know if you'll inherit your father's gifts, or your mother's. You might not get any powers. What I do know for a fact, however, is that you are extraordinary, Mia. And your life is going to be anything but ordinary or boring." Talya pulled back a little to look at Mia's tear stained face. With a gentle touch, Talya brushed the tears away with her thumbs, "If you want to grow up and be a hero, then that's what you'll be. Powers, or no powers. I bet Laura can't pick a lock hanging from her knees, can she?" Talya was finally rewarded with a little giggle and a soft. "She can't even do the monkey bars..." "Well, there you go, then," Talya smiled back at Mia, scrunching her nose up to make the little girl laugh. She pressed a quick kiss to Mia's brow and released her. "I would be very surprised if you didn't have some magic in those hands, sweetheart, but all things come in their own time. Now, why don't you take a little bit to try and get yourself centered and I'll see if your father has finished with the tea."

"Bloody hell," Tori gasped as the entire plane jolted. Digging her hands deep into the pocket of her jacket, she fumbled for a moment before closing around a bag of seeds. With no finesse, just desperation, her nails bit into the plastic enough to gouge a few channels into it before she flung her hand out scattering seeds all about the cabin. "Cosnaíonn fíniúnacha sinn!" The gaelic tripped from her tongue, demanding vines burst from the seeds and weave themselves rapidly about the cabin in hope of blunting anyone tossed about. That did mean that Tori had to drop the offered protection of the animal spirit in order to weave her magic but, in that split second, she was more concerned about buffering as many people as possible rather than ensuring her own safety. Hopefully, that was a gamble that would pay off.

"It's little more than a front," Talya replied evenly. That these were friends of family meant that Talya wouldn't play games about their current location. "It's my home on record and that is a useful thing to have for all sorts of meetings albeit most of them far less pleasant than current company but since Jack and I have both made no small number of enemies over the years, we prefer our actual day-to-day to be a bit less scrutinized." She gave his arm a light pat and a droll look at his mounting panic over being considered wealthy. "I was a very good thief, though, thank you. A better spy and a mediocre hero these days. Care for a spot of tea?" Talya offered turning towards the immaculate kitchen. "I haven't been to space myself in ages. I keep an ear out, though. One never knows when one might get space-nabbed for a caper. How is life in the Star Rangers these days?" "Tea for you, Jill? I've almost got Jack fully trained on the art of making a proper cup," Talya offered. Really, Erik had learned the knack of getting a cup of tea just right back when the twins had been still toddling and Talya hadn't always had a hand free to make a cup. It was more an offer to give Jill and her school friend a bit of breathing space in case they were a little too overwhelming in full force.

"Roughly seven hundred and ninety light years from your planet. Very roughly," Andromeda offered with a bright smile before she shook her head at Ace a little. "I wasn't given it; I made it. At the end of my star-cycle. I could have blown out and condensed down and gone white and cool but I wanted legs and arms and fingers and toes. It's better to experience up close then watch from far away. Observation is one thing but it's not a substitute for experience. So, I think, the more you can share your experiences with others, the greater a gift you'll be giving."

Star Child 2 Posts = 1 PP Friend like me: 2 Posts Kid Celtic 2 + 3 + 2 = 7 Posts + 4 Roll Over = 2 PP National Anthem (IC): 2 Posts The Family of Things (IC): 3 Posts The Red Bridal (IC): 2 Posts Bombshell 3 Posts = 1 PP + 1 Guide Point = 2 PP The Light of Better Days (IC): 3 Posts Titanium 4 Rollover Posts (4 to Kid Celtic) Phantom Ground and Center: 4 Posts Guide Point to Bombshell

The woman Luke bumped into was much warmer than she should have been. Leilani automatically shifted to a stance that grounded her a bit better as she rocked with the impact, her hand still in Frost's. She turned to look at Luke with arched brows. "You need some help, kiddo?" Leilani asked as she took a step towards Frost as she raised one bare foot slightly off the ground before slamming it back down, heel first. A small wave shivered through the ground as the elementalist connected with the soil below and seized control of the stone well below Freedom City's streets. Beyond them, stone walls sprung up at Leilani's command, cutting off avenues of escape from the market. The stone hissed as it came into contact with the cold and snow. "You're going to want to back up a bit," she told Luke, not unkindly. "It's going to get warm around me." Summoning the heat that burned just below the surface of her skin, Leilani's kicked off the ground with a small trail of flames in her wake until she was hovering high enough that her heatwave wouldn't accidentally burn anyone but still in conversational distance from Frost. "I'm going to get a good look above. Maybe we can round them up for your net to work it's magic, 'mitri? It's a lot of 'em and they're running all different directions looks like."

Tori nodded her head although she hadn't looked scandalized or laughed; she'd been in the states long enough to be used to the more common differences in slang between the two. She addressed Danica's point first, however, "Sure, but you shouldn't worry about all of that. Focus on what you like first. Doesn't really matter if it isn't what everyone else is doing; especially when it comes to room decorations. Pick things that just make you happy. Eventually, you'll develop your own style and just feel confident in that. Popular changes but confidence is forever!" Tori tucked her phone back in her pocket, taking the lead towards the Hot Topic in question. As they reached the store, she raised her voice to be easily heard over the music, trusting her magic to carry nuance of her words to Neko. "As to pants - or trousers - yeah, it's fine to wear them. You have some older folks especially in upper class feel like it should always be skirts below the knees and low heels but that's not at all common. It's even acceptable for women to wear a dress suit at a fancy event except truly stodgy things. No one's going to give you the side eye for trousers. Jeans are fine for casual and slacks if you want to go a little dressy. You can wear a tuxedo at black tie events, even. At least in America. In Britain, society events are a bit more restrictive and you do have events where trousers are going to get you sniffed at. But, I mean, we still have a Queen so it's not like we're on the bleeding edge of social advancement. Not so sure on modern Japanese customs but I imagine that it's also really dependent on social class and situation. They're, uh, a little less LGBT friendly in some ways but the counter culture push back is pretty strong in some youth cultures so..." Tori shrugged, realizing she was probably offering more information. "No one's going to bat an eye if you want to wear jeans sometimes to try it out at Claremont that's for sure. But no one's going to be huffy if you want to stick to more traditional-for-you looks either. You're a teenager. Figuring out what you want to look like is pretty much a thing you're supposed to spend a lot of time and mental effort on." Tori nodded towards the clerk who probably had almost as many tattoos and a good number of piercings to go along with it. "It's sort of the whole point of this store. From the t-shirts to the manic panic hair dye."

"Well, those are not the Menehune that my Tutu told stories about," Leilani commented as she stepped forward into the void created by startled shoppers moving out of the way of rampaging goblinoids. She didn't look too out of place - Freedom City was more of a melting pot than many places on the Eastern Seaboard, except she was dressed in a light tanktop and shorts despite the chilly, snowy weather. The more keen eyed might notice - if not distracted by goblins - that the snow melted as soon as it touched her hair or skin and her sandaled feet left the concrete below them dry as she moved forward. Lifting one hand to wave at Dimitri cheerfully, "I thought you said it would be a boring day if I wanted to stop by. You're going to use a net? Have you tried bananas and fish?" She shifted her way through the crowd, kicking off her sandals so her feet were bare in the snow. "It's a lot of little feet running around. I don't suppose these are Santa's elves here to give out presents, hm?" As she reached Dimitri's side, she offered a small smile and bumped the ambient heat up a notch to counter the omnipresent chill of the vampire. "Want a hand?"

Talya had made short work of swapping a few pieces for those let overtly felonious in nature. Provided no one went into the bedroom, the open living areas were a little intimidating but at least were less 'look at my ill gotten gains'. As Jack let them in, she was frowning slightly up at an oil painting hanging in the entryway, her head tipped to one side. "I am truly disappointed this is still here," she admitted in an aside to Jill as the door opened. "I keep hoping that it will entice some young up and coming thief to take it to prove themselves but so far, no luck. I might not even steal this one back. It's both heavy and not terribly attractive." Because while Talya couldn't in good conscious set about planning heists like she used to, it was entirely fair game to steal something back. Thus far, however, no one had taken the bait on the current mid century monstrosity occupying a place of honor in the foyer much to Talya's dismay. Did that mean that this entire place doubled as a honeypot? Yes, yes it did. She hung back as Jack made the initial greeting. "Famed or infamous? It's such a fine line," Talya commented dryly, "He's only Mister Blades to his enemies, after all. I'm Talya. Do make yourselves at home."

"First," Phantom said, holding up one fingertip, "Most, if not all, the stories that you read are written by humans. Humanity has a bad habit of turning creatures that they don't fully understand into cautionary tales. I promise you, stories written by dragons will read very differently. It's good to remember that any point of view is going to have its own bias. My family is largely comprised of creatures that tend to be the monster in traditional movies; ghosts, zombies... vampires. There are certainly evil ones of all three but in almost no situation does one's nature dictate one's morality. You might have instincts, certainly, and some of those instincts might not be very... 'human', but in the end, it is your mind that is in control. In the end, that's the heart of magic. Willpower." Phantom's gaze cut over towards the books scattered about and with a single raised eyebrow, they floated into the air, neatly organizing themselves in the air before slotting into the bookshelf in one corner. Her gaze turned back towards Luke and a ghost of sorrow flickered across her features. "It's hard," Phantom said simply. "And sometimes, you do lose those connections. What I do - it takes time, it dictates a lot of my day to day and with that, certain sacrifices become necessary. When I took on the Master Mage mantle, I gave up on my former career; my mortal career. I've lost contact with a lot of friends over the years because I focused so much on my children, my..." Phantom trailed off and gave a little shake of her head, shaking off whatever she was going to say. "I'm very close to both of my boys although the older is growing into his adult life, and I see him less. Some of that you would experience anyway; being a teenager. That you've discovered you're adopted, that's going to cause some stress. That you're another species, that's just going to add layers to it but you just put the effort in. You make the time to do all the things that you can with your family. The bonds there are strong. They'll hold even as you grow and when you grow up. Every parent deals with their teenager stretching their wings; whether those are metaphorical or literal."

"Oh, good. Then it is okay to discuss," Andromeda agreed, nodding as she clearly made a mental note. She beamed up at Ace when he hugged her close before turning to watch with bright eyes as Davyd shifted his shapes rapidly. "I have done that! But only once. It took a lot of work and time and effort and I had to make myself a cocoon because the flesh is so much more fragile than light and heat and fire and it might have gotten damaged when I travelled all the way from there, to here. You are very clever to be able to do it so much and so easily. I can change other things, though, but I think if I had to change myself again, it would be very, very hard. I might have to wait until it was time for the death-rebirth again. I'm not certain." She held her hands out for the go pro and tipped her head towards Ace before she closed the band of the go pro in her hands. The fabric shimmered between her fingers brightly, taking on a subtle sheen before she handed it back. "I have infused your band with the 'morphic molecules' although as I have told Ace, that name is not entirely accurate. But, I think, he is right that you will want someone who is technologically skilled to tinker with the electronics to make them strong and sturdy to survive all the many shapes you can take. Especially if you put the camera inside you. Acid is bad for electronics. I could change the fragile parts to something that is less fragile. Diamond or vibranium or perhaps an alloy but they would no longer function as intended sadly."

"Doesn't there come a point where you have to question that, though? I mean, at some level, don't we end up not quite human anymore? I guess that depends how you define humanity, though, hunh?" Of course, someone who heard the anima in all living things would start to have questions about sentience and what it meant to be human. Tori watched with some concern as Stesha shifted and stretched but relaxed when it didn't seem to be anything more than aches and pains. Discarding her questions with the rapidity of youth, Tori brightened, "Oh, yes, please. I'm allowed to go on any field trips as long as it's not on British soil which, I mean, given the kinda nasty history of colonization is a whole 'nother topic of debate but I am absolutely certain that Sanctuary is definitely a-okay by any definition anyone could think of. Especially since you're there. I'm one hundred percent positive that you could stop anything wonky from happening with my powers." That seemed more relief than anything else to Tori. She had clearly internalized some of the adult worries about the ramifications of her powers. She paused to turn slightly and weave some of the newly grown blossoms into a small bower for her rabbit friend. "Just stay here for now, when it's quiet, you can hop home without any worries, okay? Just don't eat yourself sick." Dusting her hands off on her pants, Tori bounced to her feet with the ease of someone who had not yet learned to appreciate her knees and smiled brightly. "Ready!"

"I am happy to do both of those things but, again, I prefer to do them after ten in the morning," Talya said dryly, her smile slanting towards Jill O'Cure. "Though it does look lovely on you. I actually have tailored street clothes for all of the Interceptors and attached family but the trick is coaxing everyone that there's a good reason to wear it. Chris, especially, seems very set on his personal brand of 'style'." The quotation marks around 'style' were absolutely audible although it was said with as much fondness as exasperation. She smoothed her hands over the tight pencil skirt and squinted a little at the skyline. While Talya was perfectly able to swing across the Freedom City skyline even in the tightly fitted skirt, it would certainly be more difficult. Plus, there was a far more attractive option. Wrapping her arms around Erik's shoulders, she gave him a small smile, "Indulge me and play the hero, would you? I could tell you that it's so I can have my hands free to text the doorman but, really, it's just that my chance to get carried like a rescued damsel comes across so rarely." The building that served as Talya's legal residence had been brand new in the early sixties when she'd purchased the penthouse to serve as her new base of operations. At the time, it had been one of the tallest in the city but several newer buildings had since eclipsed it in size although it retained a degree of grandeur and unlike some of the contemporary buildings, had been meticulously upkept while maintaining the mid-century charm of the original design. It exuded a certain degree of expected wealth of the residents, from the fact that the building employed round the clock staff that were more in line with an upscale hotel than an apartment building. Landing on the deck, it couldn't have been more different than the cozy garden rooftop terrace of their actual home. The plants were minimal and manicured, the furniture was sleek and spotless with a glittering infinity pool in one corner of the expansive patio that was more suited for adult parties than children's sleepovers. The colors were in Talya's monochrome grayscale with occasional pops of red accents or gold hardware and only broken up by expensive paintings or statues on display at various places in the interior. Their children would have destroyed the entire penthouse in a handful of seconds. It was exactly the sort of residence that the average tabloid reader would expect of Bombshell by reputation. For those that knew her, it didn't even hold her favorite artworks; just the most obvious ones and, rather deliberately, the most infamously stolen ones. When Talya's heeled toes touched the patio she hummed softly, "Perhaps you'd rather we meet your classmate downstairs in the restaurant a few levels down, Ellie? I rather designed this place to give me the advantage in meetings but it might not be as warm as you might want for the initial backdrop to the conversation. I've let the doorman know they're coming and we can have them directed wherever you prefer. I might be able to soften up the lounge if you give me a moment... Move the Duchess's Sapphire out to the bedroom, at least." Picking up the necklace in its display case, Talya went to stow a sapphire about the size of a walnut deeper in the penthouse. "I may have to redecorate if we're going to make this a more regular thing. Raina would enjoy that, I think."

"You could join our anime watching parties! I mean, it's basically whoever I can drag out to take part. Sometimes its my roomie from last year, sometimes I can get Ryder. I usually nag Utsawa and he comes and complains about how it's for children." Tori rolled her eyes. "If you ask me, he can use a little more childish whimsy in his life so I'm making him watch Cardcaptor Sakura. He hates it." That was said with far too much cheer. "But anime is fun. Honestly, it's got something for pretty much everyone. They make it for, you know, adult sensibilities but I don't put on anything that's going to get us in trouble for watching in the lounge. Not even the borderline stuff. And I think we should start at Hot Topic and go from there. I have access to my Mum's vaguely guilty 'sorry you can't come home for holidays, buy something fun' money if we want to make a day of it - if you want. There's one of the older kids that will take money and portal-hop to bring in out of country imports if there's something you really want from another country. I may have used their service a time or two when I was craving sweets from back home m'self."

"They are, indeed, mean," Andromeda said gravely. "I have had to make them float more than any other humans combined. It makes Ace laugh though! And I do not spin them. I understand that the inner ear is sensitive. I do not wish to cause discomfort. I just do not wish to be touched without permission. That is important. Everyone needs to agree before touching and I did not agree. Not even with the unspoken social contracts of handshakes or cheek-kisses of greeting." The bemused smiles that the Dangers aimed at the star-turned-mortal didn't seem to register although she smiled back brightly with clear fondness, even if she didn't really understand why she was being smiled at. "Claremont is not to be talked out unless everyone knows the truth about Claremont. Everyone here knows the truth about Claremont?" Her brow furrowed in concern as she looked to Ace and Veronica for verification even though it was clearly the case. It proved that despite Rachel's concerns, Andromeda could keep secrets at least when the necessity was explained to her clearly. Something that Ace had not done about the business secrets of Danger, Inc.